NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 17, 2025--
INVNT, the innovation-led global brand storytelling agency, announced the appointment of James Nicholas Kinney as its first Global Chief AI Officer, a role designed to bring new AI-powered solutions directly to clients while expanding the agency’s AI ecosystem and strengthening its data, insights, and tooling infrastructure.
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In establishing this role, INVNT is accelerating the integration of AI across every department and division at the agency — from strategy and creative to production, and operations — building the internal systems, data lakes, and intelligent capabilities that will shape the next generation of experience and brand engagement.
Kinney brings a professional profile defined by AI certifications from MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and Wharton – the program led by LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman. Blending extensive experience as a Global Chief People Officer with deep technological fluency, he has centered his career on people, culture, talent, and large-scale AI evolution. His leadership background spans .Monks, part of S4Capital, and Ogilvy, as well as shaping people-first cultures at Giant Spoon and Mother.
Scott Cullather, Chairman and Chief Growth Officer, INVNT, commented on the significance of the role: “Business transformation happens when you connect the dots across industries, technologies, and the experience ecosystem. INVNT has always been at the forefront of innovation-led brandstory™. Adding a Global Chief AI Officer to our leadership team marks the next step in that evolution for our clients, our agency and the industry at large. James is uniquely qualified for this role, one of the foremost minds in AI-enabled organizational design with a rare blend of HR leadership, agency experience, and advanced AI training. He understands how humans and machines can coexist to drive meaningful progress, from operational maximalism to predictive analytics and client-forward solutions. His leadership will accelerate INVNT’s future as the best-in-class experience agency enhanced by AI.”
Over the last 17 years, INVNT has partnered with the world’s leading brands to merge bold creativity with state-of-the-art innovation, positioning the agency at the forefront of next-generation, AI-driven brand storytelling.
Kinney will be responsible for leading client-facing AI innovation, helping global brands scale their experiences and campaigns through intelligent machine learning, and driving new business opportunities grounded in AI-powered transformation. He will report directly to Scott Cullather, Chairman and Chief Growth Officer of INVNT.
Kristina McCoobery, CEO, INVNT, emphasized the agency’s historical approach to innovation: “INVNT has always believed in building what comes next. From AI-powered product launches to immersive global experiences and campaigns, we’ve proven that storytelling and technology elevate each other in extraordinary ways. James will partner across all our divisions and regions, to strengthen INVNT’s AI operations, create greater efficiencies, and expand the agency’s data, tooling, and automation ecosystem leading our efforts to scale that vision across every corner of the business, touching every client experience, ultimately supercharging the creative solutions we develop for our clients”.
James Nicholas Kinney, Global Chief AI Officer, stated his vision for the role: “INVNT is an innovation led brand story agency full of high performers. We dream big and build boldly. My role is to bring AI into that ethos, to create greater impact for our clients and drive operational acceleration for our employees around the world.
We will enable global cultural alignment with clear language, shared understanding, and unified execution.”
ABOUT INVNT
On a mission to put a brand on the moon. INVNT® is an international, interdisciplinary, and integrated, innovation-led agency united by brand storytelling. Helping challenger brands and organizations impact audiences, dent culture, and make history. Founded in 2008, INVNT continues to be led by Kristina McCoobery (CEO), and Scott Cullather (Chairman and Chief Growth Officer) - amplifying globally with offices in New York (HQ), London, Sydney, Singapore, Mumbai, Dubai, Detroit, San Francisco, Stockholm, Noosa, and Washington D.C. For more Information visit invnt.com.
James Kinney, alum from .Monks (S4Capital), Ogilvy, Mother, and Giant Spoon joins INVNT in the Chief AI Officer inaugural role
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans rejected a pair of Democratic-backed resolutions Wednesday that would have put a check on President Donald Trump’s power to use military force against drug cartels and the nation of Venezuela.
Democrats forced the votes using war powers resolutions as Trump has stepped up his threats against the South American nation and Congress has questioned how the U.S. military is conducting a campaign that has destroyed 25 vessels allegedly carrying drugs and killed at least 95 people. The legislation would have forced the Trump administration to seek authorization from Congress before continuing attacks against cartels that it deems to be terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere or launching an attack on Venezuela itself.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, argued that Trump's aggressions in the region were really because “the president is coveting Venezuelan oil.”
They were the first votes in the House on Trump's military campaign in Central and South America. A majority of Republicans in the Senate had previously voted against similar resolutions, and Trump would almost certainly veto them if they were to pass Congress. But Democrats forced the votes as a way to bring up a debate about the military campaign and force Republicans to go on the record about supporting it.
Republican leaders have increasingly expressed support for Trump's campaign, even as it potentially escalates into a direct confrontation with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said earlier Wednesday that he didn't know whether the Trump administration had “publicly stated” that they wanted regime change, but “I would certainly not have a problem if that was their position.”
“Maduro is a cancer on that continent,” added Thune, R-S.D.
Still, the Trump administration has not sought congressional authorization for its recent actions in the Caribbean, arguing instead that it can destroy drug-carrying boats just as it would handle terrorist threats against the U.S. That rationale, however, has led to deep scrutiny of the strikes, especially after it was revealed that a Sept. 2 operation killed two people who had survived an initial attack.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other top national security officials briefed members of Congress on Tuesday. They defended the campaign as a successful counter-narcotic effort that has cut into the drug supply entering the U.S., but did not clue in Congress about its ultimate goals when it comes to Venezuela.
The Navy admiral who ordered the strike on Sept. 2 that killed two survivors was also back on Capitol Hill Wednesday for classified briefings with the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
After viewing the video of the strike in question, lawmakers emerged with contrasting responses. Republicans mostly backed the decision-making that led up to the strike, saying it was based on exact intelligence and careful decision-making. Democrats said the sight of a missile strike on two people clinging to the wreckage of a boat was shocking and should be made public.
“I think there are serious questions about criminal culpability here, and there is certainly a need for more intensive federal investigation,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat.
Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and former Marine who served in Iraq, said Wednesday’s briefing confirmed his concerns and led him to determine that the two survivors who were killed were “helpless” and that there was “significant evidence that they were not continuing their mission.”
GOP lawmakers, however, appeared ready to move on from investigations that had been opened under the Republican-controlled committees. Rep. Mike Rogers, the GOP chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said his panel’s investigation into the Sept. 2 boat strike is over.
He also said the video of the follow-up strike, which killed two survivors of the initial attack, should not be released to the public unless it’s “declassified to the level that we don’t compromise tactics, techniques and procedures.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican who leads the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters, “I think we know all we’re going to know as a matter of oversight.”
The resolutions Wednesday were brought under the War Powers Act of 1973, which was intended to reassert congressional power over the declaration of war. And the debate in Congress showed there is still some hesitancy among Republicans to fully endorse an ongoing conflict.
Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who retired from the Air Force with a rank of brigadier general, said that while he believes the boat strike was lawful, the Trump administration should seek authorizations from Congress.
“I think the mission was right," he said after the briefing with Bradley. "But continued hostility does require congressional approval.”
Democrats also repeatedly challenged whether Trump's goals are in fact about halting drug trafficking and preventing overdose deaths. They stridently criticized the president for pardoning former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández after he was sentenced last year to 45 years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking operation that moved hundreds of tons of cocaine to the U.S.
A few GOP lawmakers have joined them, noting the escalation of hostilities against Venezuela has failed to keep Trump's campaign promises to disengage from military commitments overseas.
“If it were about drugs, we'd bomb Mexico or China or Colombia,” said Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, as he pointed out that those countries were actually where illegal drugs originate.
“This is about oil and regime change,” he added.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth walks to the auditorium to brief members of Congress on military strikes near Venezuela at the Capitol, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
